There is much excitement over the upcoming premiere of the AMC TV series 'Into The Badlands,' which will feature 'The Man with the Iron Fists' star Daniel Wu as a mysterious warrior named Sunny. However, although the 41-year-old martial artist seemed like a perfect fit for the lead role, Daniel Wu recently told TIBS that he was not planning to star in the show.
"I really didn't think about playing the lead at the beginning," Wu admitted. "I started out as the executive producer developing a project for AMC. That was exciting on its own."
Daniel Wu, who will play the villain Gul'Dan in Duncan Jones' 2016 'Warcraft' movie, continued by explaining that the decision to take on the role of Sunny happened while they were auditioning actors.
"When we went through the audition process it became clear that I was going to be playing the lead role because it didn't start off that way," he said. "In my mind I thought we would get someone in their late 20s or early 30s because physically, it's a very demanding role."
The 'Warcraft' star also stated that 'Into The Badlands' will be groundbreaking for Asian actors.
"Someone said to me, this is kind of groundbreaking," Wu said. "It was after about the first round of marketing that I realized that yea this is kind of groundbreaking considering martial arts past with Hollywood and TV," he continued, adding that the show still has a long way to go before being considered revolutionary.
"It is slowly starting to seep in but again at the same time I don't think its groundbreaking until it's been successful and renewed," Wu said.
Daniel Wu will also serve as executive producer for 'Into The Badlands,' which will feature Aramis Knight as M.K. and Emily Beecham as the Widow. The series will premiere on AMC on November 15.
